Join birder extraordinaire and veteran bird course instruction for this bigger and better than ever late winter/spring birding course. This course is all field trips, in all sorts of habitats with all kinds of birds! Course is limited to 12 participants and will be outdoor only for COVID Safety. Participants must be vaccinated and willing to carpool. Sliding Scale Pricing – Tier A- $550 Tier B- $500 Tier C- $450 Tier D- $400.
*Registration opens on Tuesday, January 18 at 9am
FIELD TRIPS:
February 12 – 5AM-Dusk. Cape Ann or Plum Island- Coastal Specialties – Scaups, Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, Surf, Black and White-winged Scoters, Common Goldeneye, Buffleheads, and Red-breasted Mergansers. Purple Sandpipers, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Razorbill, Black Guillemot, and perhaps a Snowy Owl.
February 19 –7AM-12PM. Local – Amherst-Hadley. Winter birds- Hawks, Horned Larks and maybe Lapland Longspur or Snow Buntings. American Tree Sparrows.
February 26 –7AM-12PM. Local – Amherst/Hadley Region. Early waterfowl.
March 5– 7AM-12PM. Local Waterfowl. By this time waterfowl will be returning to the Valley. We’ll take a look at several vantage points along the Connecticut.
March 19 – 7AM-12PM. Local Waterfowl migration is in full swing. We’ll hit areas in Hadley, Hatfield and Turner’s Falls.
March 26 – 5AM- All Day. Moose Bog, VT. This trip is very weather dependent. Northern Specialties- possibilities include, Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, Canada Jay, Boreal Chickadee and perhaps some winter finches, Crossbills, Siskins.
April 2 – 7AM-12PM. Local Local 7:00AM-12:00 Waterfowl and early migrants.
April 9 – 7AM-12PM. Local TBD
April 16 – 7AM-12PM. Ludlow– Looking for Upland Sandpipers at Westover AFB.
April 23rd– 7AM-12PMFannie Stebbins Refuge, Longmeadow. Early Warblers, (Palm, Yellow-rumped, Pine, Yellow and maybe Northern Waterthrush)
April 30 – 5AM-Dusk. Plum Island. Waterfowl, Egrets, Shorebirds and maybe a lingering Snowy Owl?
May 7 – 7AM-12PM. Local. Warbler migration starting to ramp up. We’ll visit local areas in Amherst.
May 21 – 6:30AM-12PM. Mt.Holyoke We’ll hike up the main road to the Summit House. Nesting Cerulean and Worm-eating Warblers will be our goal.
May 28th– 5:30AM-12PM. Southwick WMA. We visited this area for the first-time last spring. Nesting Grasshopper Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Prairie Warblers, Eastern Meadowlarks and much more.
Overnight Trip – June 10-12– Ct. Lakes, Pittsburg, NH? To be discussed by class.
